Product Placement

I have yet to be fully convinced of the relevance of the DJ mix. Are they good\n\
at parties ...

I have yet to be fully convinced of the relevance of the DJ mix. Are they good
at parties? Sure. Are they entertaining? On occasion. Do you listen to them
over and over until you have every synth splash and subtle nuance memorized?
Ahh, there's the problem. Whether they're comprised of funk, Moroccan trance,
Ibiza disco, or some insidious blend of the three, they're usually going to find
their way into the "sell" pile eventually. Here's why:

1. The At-Home-Listening Problem: I admire a good DJ's ability to get me shakin'
that ass on the dancefloor, but oftentimes, that doesn't make for an engaging
experience when I'm commutin' that ass from DC to Baltimore in the morning. Rare
is the mix, I've found, that can hold up without the usual fog machine and strobe
light accompaniment.

2. The Novelty Wear-Off: The first time through, most DJ mixes usually turn up a
bunch of surprises, along the lines of, "Dude, I can't believe he just segued Saul
Williams into Sonic Youth!" But too often, when the shock of an inventive pairing
fades, so too does the charm.

3. The Wank Factor: Defined as the prioritization of technique over content; a
DJ making "wikkity wikkity wik" noises for an hour is about as entertaining as a
guitarist going "deedily deedily deedily" for an hour. We're all impressed by
their amazing dexterity, sure, but isn't there anything else these guys can do?

That being said, last year I discovered a mix that successfully avoided all three
of the above pitfalls: the much-admired, widely-bootlegged Brainfreeze. A
collaboration between icon DJ Shadow and Jurassic 5 turntablist Cut Chemist,
Brainfreeze was a one-hour throwdown comprised largely of rare funk and
soul 45s. Based around neglected classics like "The Funky DJ," "The Tramp from
Funky Broadway," and most famously, 7-11's "Doin' the Slurp" jingle, the two kept
the overt DJ trickery to a minimum and sculpted a mixtape symphony that withstood
repeated listens.

Product Placement, the duo's latest collaboration, is being hyped as the
sequel to Brainfreeze, with a similar mission (all rare 45s), format (two
tracks, one hour) and release (extremely limited). Unfortunately, this sequel
status will invariably lead to lazy critics comparing the new release to its cult
classic predecessor. Lazy critics like me: it's not as good, and doesn't skirt
the above pet peeves quite as nimbly.

The album's first track gets off to a slow and clichéd start with the standard
self-referential samples and exhibitions of scratching speed. Oddly, the first
recognizable song used is Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love," which would seem to
indicate a different musical direction for the ensuing hour (is there any man
less funky than Jimmy Page?). But quickly the piece settles down into a more
soulful, chill pace, constructed from a rapid-fire series of laid-back instrumental
segments. So the seamless blending demonstrated on Brainfreeze remains
intact, but with source material that comes across as considerably less energetic
and gritty.

Complaint #2 is dangerously courted by the first track's centerpiece, "Cookin'
with Gas," a natural gas promotional tune featuring teenagers giving the most
awful rapping performances imaginable. While the humor of the song and the DJs'
juvenile interweaving of, yes, fart noises rapidly wears off, Shadow and Cut
Chemist place it over a sparse, old-school beat that provides a solid foundation
for the middle ten minutes of the piece. Soon enough, though, the mix returns
to a slow, funky strut that, while enjoyable, doesn't provide much in the way of
memorable moments.

Lest you think I'm unfairly comparing Product Placement to its predecessor,
the second half of the disc begins with five minutes of re-worked Brainfreeze
staples like "California Soul" and "I'd Be Nowhere Today." Using different
versions or segments of their previous record's 45s, these tracks no doubt brought
huge cheers when the set was played on their late 2001 mini-tour. Unfortunately,
it comes across here as sour and cloying.

The following sections utilize a variety of commercial jingles (hence the title)
and novelty tunes espousing the virtues of soft drinks, milk, Motocross, and more.
Obviously attempts to recreate the popular "Doin' the Slurp" sequence from
Brainfreeze, the results vary from successful (a folk-and-brass solder
job on "The Real Thing") to near unlistenable (revving motorcycle noises are,
unsurprisingly, sort of hard on the ear in any context).

By re-mining the same territory of their previous mutual effort with less
compelling material, Product Placement falls into a trap familiar to
sequels of another genre: film. It would be overly harsh to say DJ Shadow and
Cut Chemist have produced their Staying Alive here, but in the end, the
album is no more satisfying a follow-up than, say, Jaws 2. It's a damn
shame: had it been an Empire Strikes Back, this reviewer might have been
that much closer to seeing the DJ light.